:: Free 2 Be :: the Odyssey ::

19 Sep, 2009

Begin Again Goals

Posted by: delitaagain In: Goals

Three days have passed and my success rate seems about 50/50: half and half doing things better on eating habits, but, still reaching for treats, etc. Some progress is good progress yet I would like to do better at setting, measuring and achieving goals.

A goal is a dream with a deadline. Napolean Hill

My goals for the next ten days:

  • Drink three glasses of water per day.
  • Eat at least two eggs per day.
  • No food after midnight.

I have other things I want to do like read another book on metabolism and I’m already cutting back on bread, upping veggies, etc.

BUT. It works better for me to not try to improve everything at once. Setting no more than three measurable goals gives me distinct things to focus on, a goal to reach. Trying to improve in too many areas at once inevitably leads to losing focus or burnout.

How do you find ways to achieve your goals?

8 Responses to "Begin Again Goals"

1 | Sandi DeFalco

September 19th, 2009 at 1:53 pm

Avatar

Hmmm a book on metabolism. A friend of mine swears by ‘The Metabolic Typing Diet’ by William Wolcott and Trish Fahey. My friend Barbara, *cured* herself of ovarian cancer over 30 years ago by adapting to that style of eating. She took care of her mother and adjusted her diet to the metabolic typing diet. Her Mom passed away earlier this year, she was in her mid-to-late 90’s!!
I like the idea of 3 smaller goals/adjustments, it seems more attainable. Keep posting! Hugs - Sandi

2 | inkheartmeg

September 19th, 2009 at 3:43 pm

Avatar

HI delita! It’s great to have you back here. In your absence I guess you can say I crashed and burned. I ate whatever I wanted, stopped going to the gym, and whatnot. It started out slow, a little here and there and then in the end it was a free for all. I went all the way back to 308! Remember my blog is called “310. Never again.” Whew! That was close. Anyways, quite a few of us have had some issues this summer, and quite a few of seem to be back at it. So glad to have you with us.

I’m really sad about your brother. Thank you for sharing with us such a great post.

When I think of you, I think of that powerful woman who kicks Sir Cross Fits’ butt.

Oh I see you still have concentrated on your blogroll…. I guess we’ll never know what happened to her.

3 | round

September 20th, 2009 at 4:15 pm

Avatar

I could write a book on both subjects (goals and metabolism) but I’ll keep it short.

If you can handle a technical science book that really looks at the science of obesity, weight and weight loss, Good Calories, Bad Calories by Gary Taubes is unbeatable. I’ve read (no joke) over 200 books on diet, exercise, nutrition. Nothing I’ve read has come close to this book. But it’s very technical and not reader friendly. I read science all day for work, so I didn’t have a problem with it, but ….

On the goals, I am a believer in focusing on time-based goals for BEHAVIOR but not for weight. I don’t think our weight follows the nice neat path of -2 pounds (or whatever number) per week, and time-based goals tend to make us think of ourselves as failures (if you lose 18 pounds in 3 months but you wanted to lose 25).

I do believe in kind of baby step goals - behavioral based ones, and a finite numer of them (until they become habit, and you can add new ones). Mine are things that fit into 3 basic categories - eating well (can be cooking, shopping, tracking calories, eating more or less of a certain food, handling a special event, etc), exercise (x number of times per week, doing something new, pushing myself harder, etc) and the third area (often overlooked in my opinion) is motivation (posting on my blog regularly, reading other blogs, magazines, books, following my progress, etc).

Keeping these goals has become such an ingrained habit that I don’t even really write them down most weeks, but when I struggle (ie start over on a diet or have a plateau) I do. I tend to select 3, maybe 4.

I also always try to set goals that I can achieve. So I would start w going to the gym 3x a week, because I will probably do 4, maybe even 5. I wouldnt START with a goal of 5.

I think you’re thinking along good lines to be successful - good luck

4 | beerab

September 21st, 2009 at 10:04 am

Avatar

I’m glad to see you are back- you can get back on and do it all again girl! *hugz*

5 | delitaagain

September 23rd, 2009 at 4:09 pm

Avatar

Sandi, thanks. Yes, I inevitably seem to get off track when I try to do too many goals, as in more than three. Hugs to you too!

6 | delitaagain

September 23rd, 2009 at 4:11 pm

Avatar

inkheartmeg, WOW! congrats to you, too. Funny, my turn around at 2 pounds below 250 is about the third time that weight has been a major turning point for me. This time, in a good direction. The previous times, I used that weight to start the trek back up. YEA FOR YOU! Great to see you. Thanks for coming by!

7 | delitaagain

September 23rd, 2009 at 4:13 pm

Avatar

round! Great to see you! I believe also in goals for behaviors and not weight levels. I figure if I can get the behaviors the weight loss will follow. And I also try to set goals that I can/will achieve. If they turn out too hard, I lower the bar and set easier goals. It really seems to work for me. Thanks!

8 | delitaagain

September 23rd, 2009 at 4:13 pm

Avatar

beerab, and I’m so glad to be back and so delighted to see you back! HUGZ to you, too!

Comment Form


  • tjnorth: I spent some time with my sister this summer and she lost about 100 pounds (she won't really say) three years ago by eating the good stuff (veggies,
  • brseay: Wow, what incredible pictures! So good to see you pop up here. Many of the regulars have disappeared so it's nice to see a friendly face. My ch
  • shoecrazy: Hi Delita! Well, I have soo many challenges... But, I had a trainer who said "you can't out run a bad diet" so my challenge is my keeping my food unde